By Bricey Bradshaw

Staff writer

Looking for somewhere tasty to get some “sugar” on a date? Located in downtown Rome, Honeymoon Bakery is the perfect place for you and your significant other to end the night.

Honeymoon Bakery offers delicious desserts, including cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cakes, gelato, fudge and éclairs. They are now also serving breakfast until 11 a.m. every day, offering doughnuts, muffins, danishes, breakfast sandwiches and coffee.

Sara Fletcher, sophomore early childhood education major, has her favorite Honeymoon treats.

“I like to get the chocolate chip gelato or a slice of rainbow cake,” said Fletcher.

She loves Honeymoon Bakery because its location is convenient, and it isn’t too expensive.

Although the Honeymoon Bakery is a perfect date spot to enjoy desserts with your sweetheart, it is also a “fun, family atmosphere,” according to store co-owner, Kevin Dillmon. He co-owns this bakery with Ginny Kibler, who is the main owner of Harvest Moon Café, a restaurant adjacent to the bakery.

Dillmon says Honeymoon Bakery’s prices are affordable and they offer a variety of sweets for everyone. He also says that cupcakes and cookies are Honeymoon’s top-selling desserts.

Whether you’re looking for a pleasant date spot or a fun place to get together with friends, the

Honeymoon Bakery caters to a variety of people and it satisfies everyone’s taste. Honeymoon is open on Monday from 7 a.m.- 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m.- 9 p.m., and Friday through Saturday 7 a.m.- 10 p.m. Don’t miss out on the delicious delights at Honeymoon Bakery!

Courtney Overton

Staff writer

Cups &   Mugs found its way into the hearts of many students and families in the Rome   area after opening in January of last year. It offered a fun environment on   Broad Street for its customers to study, relax, be entertained or grab a cup   of coffee on their way to work.

After what seemed to be a successful year, Cups &   Mugs announced they would serve their last cup of coffee on Oct. 8, 2011.   Customers were heart broken.

“I literally cried three times the last time I was   leaving,” said Ally Blackwell, senior middle grades education major. “I felt   like my home was being ripped away from me.”

Although some people thought Cups & Mugs was a   thing of the past, there is good news in the heartache: Cups & Mugs is   coming back! The new shop will not be on Broad St. but instead in Redmond   Hospital. A corner has been reserved for the coffee shop right inside the   main entrance. It may not look the same as the shop on Broad.

Cups & Mugs offered something that larger   corporations couldn’t — community.

Tori Nelson, junior English major and an employee of   Cups & Mugs, said, “I was devastated because Rome was losing such a great   place for community.”

This coffee shop was dedicated to bringing people   together.

“After standing outside the door for an hour after it   closed I was still depressed,” said Tyler Thomas, junior middle grades   education major.

Small town entertainment could be found on the stage   at Cups & Mugs.

Singer and songwriter Katrina Barclay had several   concerts at Cups & Mugs and had similar sentiments.

“When I found out through the grapevine that they   were closing, I was mostly disappointed to see that such a great venue and   coffeehouse was going away.”

What made Cups & Mugs so special to so many   people? Owner Allison Cox said it was because people could tell a difference   when they walked through the door. There was nothing “corporate” about it. It   had a local shop feeling because you saw friendly faces behind the bar,   people you knew or you got to know, and “if you didn’t call them friends   before, you could call them friends by the end of the day.”

Cox guarantees that you can expect the same service   and experience.

“It’s going to be a little different because it’s in   a hospital, but you can expect that same spirit that we had of wanting people   to feel at home when they come in the door,” said Cox. “We are going for that   all the way here too, especially because it’s in a hospital. We want to bring   this certain degree of comfort to people who are in the hospital, and even to   those who venture in from the outside—come in and you’ll still get that great   welcome.”

Cox says customers will still have a   comfortable place to sit and enjoy coffee and will still get the same great   product and great service.

“Obviously   it’s going to look really different, but I think people will be pleasantly   surprised at how easy it is to come here and enjoy a cup of coffee, even if   it is in a hospital.”

Cox wanted to thank all of the Shorter students who   have supported Cups & Mugs when things were going well and even when they   knew they were closing. She wasn’t necessarily looking for a new home for   Cups & Mugs, but Redmond approached her and asked if she was willing to   open the shop in the hospital. Cox admits that this was not the original   dream for Cups & Mugs, but believes that it is a new dream and is God’s   way of providing for them. She believes this will be a way of getting great   business and it still offers them a way to make the kind of coffee that they   want Rome to enjoy. Good news to Cups & Mugs fans: it is here to stay.